Commercial construction, glazing and lighting

Performance Elastomers Corporation serves the commercial construction, curtain wall, glazing, and exterior lighting industry with organic and silicone rubber meeting a variety of specifications.

Our appreciation for the demands of this industry is shaded by one of our early applications – providing precision color match glazing gaskets for the offices of Ford Motor Company. Two dominant forces that determine the popular stylistic color palette are automotive industry design stylists and architectural and interior design firms. Working to their demands means being under the gaze of a thousand eyes.

Color is one concern in the industry. Dimensional stability is another. The large expanse of glass in a typical storefront is an open invitation for error in the tension placed on the gasket. Applying too much tension will create gaps in the seal when the overstretched rubber contracts. One way we solve this problem is to include strands of fiber – string – which sets a limit on the elastic tension the glazer can create.

Another place where Performance Elastomers shines in meeting harsh demands is display and high intensity lighting. The baseline starts with our lighting gasket that keeps wind-borne water out of exterior fluorescent fixtures. We greatly surpass this standard when we extrude and fabricate gaskets for high intensity lighting to prevent the infiltration of atmospheric contaminants. Our gaskets perform consistently over a temperature range from freezing cold through a rapid rise to sustained temperatures of up to 230 degrees C (450 degrees F). When the heat is on to make your applications work, Performance Elastomers’ specially formulated silicone compounds will brighten your day (and night).

To top off our service to this market, Performance Elastomers extrudes anchor pads for tensioned membrane systems used in imaginative architectural applications. The best known of these is retractable domes for sports arenas. Extensive calculations determine the shape and theoretical stresses of the PTFE coated membrane. Converting theory to practice, Performance Elastomers also extrudes the even bead of high strength, high density, rubber used to evenly distribute the strain all along the edges.